Through the Darkness
by Alex Stark
Summary: Sometimes, the most important things in our lives are right in front of us. But, we're too blind to see them until it's too late. Post-Movie. Tony's POV. Pairing: TS/PP. LJ Pepperony 100 Challenge: Multiple Themes.
1. Sight

**Through the Darkness** – An Iron Man FanFic

**Disclaimer:** If I owned the _Iron Man_ franchise, I wouldn't be posting on , now would I? Everything belongs to Mr. Stan Lee and the boys at Marvel; I'm just taking the opportunity to play in their giant, billion-dollar-sized playground.

This is a slightly angsty/rather sad post movie-verse piece told from Tony's point of view. I have yet to decide how many future chapters I am going to add, so stay tuned!

**Future Pairing: **TS/PP

Reviews are highly appreciated :)!

Do enjoy:

**LJ Pepperony 100 Challenge Theme 91: Sight**

Whenever I return to the mansion from a mission, Pepper is always there waiting for me.

She asks me if I'm alright and always checks to make sure I'm not lying when I tell her I'm absolutely fine. Then, she usually gives me the flight details that she collects through Jarvis' databases. We go over the information in a calculated manner and decide whether or not certain parts of the suit need improvements or updates. The Mark III has undergone a number of renovations, but it hasn't changed too much from its original incarnation. It's still got that _Hot Rod Red/Gold_ as its rather flashy color scheme.

I count on Pepper for everything … including holding my life in her hands.

I just wish I wasn't so blind … I just wish I had seen it coming sooner.

_**-Flashback-**_

I've returned from a "military exercise" (yes, Rhodey and I still fall back on the gold standard) in the Middle East with my partner-in-crime, Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes (aka _War Machine_). I've just finish "de-suiting" with assistance from Jarvis' robot components when I turn around to find Pepper surveying me from the doorway, dressed casually in a loose-fitting cotton t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

"Pepper! I almost thought I'd have to review the suit specs without you … I have no idea how I ever could have managed that." I smile, gesturing for her to join me at the computers.

However, she makes no move to join me or exit the room. She simply stays where she is, eyeing me with that same melancholy, almost tearful, expression.

"Pepper … what's wrong?" I feel like a complete idiot as I ask the question.

"This … all of this …" She replies, gesturing uselessly around the garage.

"Pepper, I don't really understand what you're trying to say." I meet her gaze, my eyes darkened with worry.

"Tony, not everything is about you! You just stand there and expect me to come waltzing back into this infernal garage every single time you return from one of your military missions like some damn robot! You treat this whole thing like it's just a joke! It's not a joke, Tony, this is your life you're putting on the line. Every time you blast off in that suit, I feel like I've aged 30 years while I just sit here waiting to here the news from Rhodey that you won't be coming back. I can't do this anymore … I can't do this until you realize that there are other people that are affected by your little escapades." Her verbal assault quickly loses strength as she continues to meet my gaze.

"Pepper … Pepper, I'm really sorry." I begin, trying to find the right words to explain my way out of this sudden predicament.

"No Tony, that's not going to work. Sorry isn't going to cover this one. You're going to need to decide what matters more to you: my companionship or that damned suit and everything it comes with." She replies, shaking her head as she begins backing slowly up the stairwell.

"Pepper, wait!" I call, quickly dropping the papers I had collected and striding towards the doorway.

"Tony, I'm leaving. I'm not quitting, but I'm leaving. Indefinitely. When you've come to your conclusion and you've found your answer, I'll be waiting. But you're going to have to do that on your own. Goodbye, Tony." She allows as small smile to grace her lovely face as she turns and strides purposefully up the stairs and out of my life.

And I'm left feeling as though my heart has been ripped from my chest and torn apart by shards of cold glass.

-End Flashback-

It's been a week now, and nothing is going right.

I want Pepper back in my life so badly, I can't seem to concentrate on anything else.

I've talked it over with Rhodey, but the only advice he's offered is to beg her forgiveness and quit the superhero business. He's a bit keen on the idea of inheriting the "Iron Man" mantle.

But it's not that simple. It never is.

I'm still embarking on frequent missions for Rhodey's divisions, but I'm not even close to being up to par. Yesterday, I almost got blown out of the sky by a tank shell because I had allowed my mind to wander back to Pepper's departure.

If she thought I was pulling some daredevil stunts while in her company, she should see how many close calls I've pulled out of the hat without her.

I can't keep this up.

It seems even the "Invincible Iron Man" isn't as invincible as he thought.

Sometimes, especially now as I lift my third glass of Scotch to my lips, I wish I could shake off the self-important blinders I've inherited with the "Iron Man" suit.

As the alcohol slowly numbs my brain, my last coherent thought is of Pepper … and how blind I've truly been.

**To Be Continued.**


	2. Believe

**A/N:**** And heeeere's Chapter 2! I hope my readers enjoyed Chapter 1 and I hope they like the new addition :)! I really do apologize for the slight sappiness at the end, but Tony wouldn't let me rest until I put it in. I shall be updating soon!**

**Disclaimer:** If I owned the _Iron Man_ franchise, I wouldn't be posting on , now would I? Everything belongs to Mr. Stan Lee and the boys at Marvel; I'm just taking the opportunity to toy with their giant, billion-dollar-sized playground.

This is a slightly angsty/possibly sad post movie-verse piece told from Tony's point of view. I can guarantee, however, that it will take a turn for happier times in the near future. I have yet to decide how many future chapters I am going to add, so stay tuned!

**Future Pairing: **TS/PP

Reviews are highly appreciated :)!

Do enjoy:

**LJ Pepperony 100 Challenge Theme 99: Believe**

"Come on, Tony. Come on, man, snap out of it." Rhodey's voice penetrates my alcohol-fogged brain as though from a mile away.

"Mmmph." I groan, slowly lifting my head off the pillow I had passed out on only to be greeted by a blinding headache.

"That's more like it. Jesus, man, what happened?" Rhodey gently shakes my shoulders to get my attention.

I screw up my face against the vicious pounding in my skull and try to gather my thoughts enough to form a coherent response.

"Well … I decided to celebrate almost getting blown to smithereens yesterday. Then, I started thinking about how badly I screwed up with Pepper and I kind of lost track of how full the bottle was. Yeah, six months of sobriety can turn you into a total light-weight." I reply, grinning stupidly at my crap joke before said smile is slapped off my face by a sharp smack from Rhodey's open palm.

"Jesus, Rhodey, what was that for?!" I groan, clutching my now-throbbing skull between my hands.

"That was for throwing your morals out the window on a whim. You need to have a lot more self-restraint and self-respect than that if you want to win Pepper back." Rhodey replies, giving me a calculating stare as I massage my stinging cheek and wonder how he's managed to mature so much in the space of a day.

As I allow Rhodey's words to sink in, I realize just how badly I've screwed everything up in the past 24 hours. I let out a heavy sigh and simply collapse against the back of the couch.

"Rhodey … what am I doing? How am I supposed to fix this?" I groan, covering my face with my hands.

"What you need to do, Tony, is take a step back from yourself and decide what it is you really want. Do you want to quit the double-life and put 'Iron Man' on ice for good? Do you want to keep your alter-ego alive and risk losing the woman you've loved for years? Or, do you want to actually talk to her and come to a compromise that will work for the both of you?" Rhodey replied, seemingly taking on the persona of my private shrink.

"You know something, Rhodey? You sound like Yoda." I remark, managing a pained smile as he laughs.

While he manages to get a hold of his giggles, I mull his advice around in my head. My pounding hang-over headache has subsided and I'm feeling a bit more alert.

_I can't give up the "Iron Man"; that's the only thing that keeps me going in the right direction._ I muse.

_But I can't give Pepper up either._ The other half of my brain pipes up.

_Well, why don't you find the best of both worlds? Talk to her and explain just what it is you're doing when you're not at the mansion or at Stark Enterprises._ The previous half interjects.

As my internal battle wages, Rhodey watches me intently, clearly anxious to hear the result.

Finally, as the warring sides reach their crescendo, I slap my palm to the side of my head with a triumphant "I've got it!"

"Really? And what exactly do 'you have'?" Rhodey questions.

"If I can let Pepper have more control of what exactly I'm doing out there in the field and let her have loads more input on the missions, I think I might be able to convince her what I'm doing is exactly what I've been destined to do my entire life." I answer, my eyes narrowed in concentration and my thoughts clearer than they've been in over a week.

"Well, it sure sounds like you're onto something, Tony." Rhodey responds, obviously a bit wary of my idea.

"Yeah, I know it's a bit haphazard and a bit risky, but it's worth the risk to me. I don't want to give up being 'Iron Man', and I sure as hell don't want to lose Pepper by continuing to be a self-righteous jerk like I was up until she left." I state, set in my decision and already deciding when and where I'm going to tell Pepper what I've told Rhodey.

"Well, I guess all that's left for me to do is wish you the best of luck." Rhodey says, rising to his feet and beginning to stride to the door.

"Hey, James …" I call, leaning my head over the back of the couch so I can make eye-contact with him.

"Yeah, Tony?" He responds, turning to face me.

"Thanks." I finish, giving him a small smile.

"You're welcome, Tony." Rhodey returns my smile and shows himself out the door.

Once he departs, I'm left alone with my thoughts.

If I could, I'd tell Pepper everything right now. But, I know it's not the right time … not yet. I need to have everything in order and prepared to show her exactly what we can be if we team up again. But this time, she's going to be way more than an "assistant". She's going to be in the co-pilot's seat; almost more in control of what I'm doing than I am.

I've officially silenced any part of my mind that doubts my ability to win her back. After my return from the Middle East, my eyes had been opened to the real world around me. But, they weren't opened enough to see just how much she means to me. She was right there waiting for me when I got home, and I didn't even have the decency to thank her for it.

Now that she's been gone, I've been able to realize that I need her on more levels than I could have ever imagined.

I used to think all I felt for her was the platonic relationship of a boss and his co-worker, and sometimes as simply close friends. But that's changed.

I now know that I love her more than I have ever loved anyone in my entire life. I love her and I want to spend the rest of my life in her company. I can only hope that she feels the same, but for some reason, I can already sense that she does.

Why? Because I believe so. It's that simple.


	3. Mission

**A/N:**** And heeeere's Chapter 3! I hope my readers enjoyed the previous chaps and I hope they like the new addition :)!**

**This chapter is rather Pepper-centric, and in being so, will be told from both Pepper's and Tony's POVs. Primarily Tony's. **

**And, a shout-out to the fantastic ****MJ-Skywalker**** and her recent accomplishment; ****"Irreplaceable"****, for a slight inspiration for the ending of this chapter and the beginning of the next one.**

**Disclaimer:** If I owned everything _Iron Man_, I'd be lounging on a plush couch, watching HD-TV on my plasma TV in my home entertainment center in my incredible Malibu mansion.

Sadly, I've yet to even claim a couch as my own.

Everything belongs to Mr. Stan Lee and the boys at Marvel; I'm just taking the opportunity to toy with their giant, billion-dollar-sized playground.

This is a slightly angsty/possibly sad post movie-verse piece told (primarily) from Tony's point of view. I can guarantee, however, that it will take a turn for happier times in the near future. I have yet to decide how many future chapters I am going to add, so stay tuned!

**Pairing: **TS/PP

Reviews are highly appreciated :)!

Do enjoy:

**LJ Pepperony 100 Challenge Theme 64: Mission**

**The next day …**

For the third time in the past 15 minutes, I'm checking my appearance in the mirror next to my front door. I had decided on a loose pair of jeans, black button-down top, and a comfortable pair of Converse™ after having been woken up an hour previously by Jarvis. Now, I'm regretting the jeans; they're looking a bit ratty.

But come on, this is _Pepper_ we're talking about for Pete's sake. She couldn't care less whether I'm wearing a tux or a grease-stained pair of pajama bottoms and nothing on top.

Still, it'd be nice to make a better impression after acting like such a jerk in front of her for so long.

I called her cell yesterday evening, several long hours after my conversation with Rhodey, but she didn't pick up. She probably didn't feel like talking to me just yet, but I left the message I intended to tell her just the same. I told her to meet me in front of Stark Enterprises at 12:00pm and I would be treating her to lunch.

I never heard back, but I'm undertaking my self-appointed mission nonetheless. I know she'll be there, probably before I actually get there.

Finally, I pick up my custom Ray Bans, perch them comfortably on the bridge of my nose and head out my front door to the Audi A8 waiting in the drive.

**Stark Enterprises – 10 minutes later …**

By the time I park the Audi and step out of the driver's seat, I can already see Pepper waiting for me by the entrance.

I take a deep breath, steel my resolve to go through with the "mission", and slowly approach her.

"So …" I begin, shuffling my feet as I come to a stop before her.

"I'm assuming we're here to discuss something pretty important." She replies, folding her arms calmly across her chest as her intense blue eyes bore into mine.

"Yeah, we are. But we're going to do that over lunch. Is that ok with you?" I utilize my best coaxing techniques to convince her to say yes.

"That's fine. Where are we going?" She takes it quite easily in stride and moves onto the next topic.

"Why don't we hit the BK drive-thru and set up camp over in that little miniature park thing?" I suggest, figuratively crossing my fingers as she appraises the small bench shaded beneath a medium-sized tree to the side of Stark Industries.

"If you insist, Mr. Stark." She responds, neither happy nor upset regarding my culinary choice.

Immensely relieved that my plan in working so far, I enthusiastically lead her over to the A8, help her into the passenger's seat, hop into the driver's seat, and hit the gas.

**Returning from Burger King**** - 15 minutes later … **

_Pepper's POV:_

I cannot believe that he actually has the nerve to ask me out to lunch, (at Burger King, no less!) to talk about his future plans.

Thus far, I'm not impressed.

Tony needs to realize he's not just a boy playing around in his backyard with some scraps and his imagination. He needs to realize he's putting his life in danger for the satisfaction of blowing things up, but now, he doing it in reality rather than his imagination.

Granted, he used "Iron Man" to accomplish some good things. Such as defeating Obadiah Stane after he completely lost his mind. But now, Tony's just using "Iron Man" as an excuse to be a boy and go blow up a few tanks.

Every time he comes back to the mansion, his suit is riddled with bullet holes, missile fractures, scorch marks, and God knows what else. He acts like it's nothing and it's all a big joke. But I can't stand it when he does that.

He means more to me than I can possibly even begin to explain and I don't even want to imagine the possibility of Jim calling me with the news that Tony won't be coming back to his mansion.

Sure, I've denied it for years, but I suppose it's useless now.

I love Tony. I've loved him since we first met 7 years ago, and I don't know how I can possibly endure another day without him in my life in one way or another.

Those weeks he was missing in the Middle East were nothing but bleak torture. I hoped I would never feel that way again, but this past week has come pretty close. I haven't slept very much, I've barely found enough time for a couple square meals a day, and I've been in a foul mood constantly. Today was the first morning I had woken up actually feeling rested and ready to take on the day.

Some people might call me weak or superficial, but that is truly the way I feel. I've gone through far too much with Tony to throw it all away now.

I just hope he's come to an intelligent decision.

_Switch back to Tony's POV:_

Well, I suppose silence isn't necessarily a bad thing. She's probably just thinking really hard.

Or she's just too pissed at me to actually talk to or look at me.

She's been looking out that window for an awfully long time and there's nothing on that side but some cliff faces and occasional houses. Now, if there's something about Pepper that I know, she's not one to simply stare off into space. She's thinking about something, but I don't really think it's my place to be asking about it.

Oh well, we're only a few minutes away from Stark Enterprises, so we'll be talking about things soon anyways. We don't need to waste words now.

Especially with my ability to put my foot in my mouth at spectacularly inopportune moments.

I do not want to screw this up again, Pepper means way too much to me to treat anything lightly right now.

Then, as I turn my wandering attention back to the open stretch of highway in front of us, I see the bottle only as the Audi's left front tire smashes over it.

Suddenly, my mission isn't so simply anymore.

** I remember reading something regarding their movie-verse boss-assistant relationship being this long. Please feel free to correct me if I'm completely wrong :).**


	4. Explosion

A/N: Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce … Chapter 4

**A/N:**** Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce … Chapter 4! I apologize for the slight delay in updates. I'm trying to make them a daily ritual and there's a current lack of spare time around my end of things :).**

**This chap's back to being Tony-centric and told from Tony's POV. (I hope the last one wasn't confusing with Pepper's POV integrated in there :).)**

**Disclaimer:** If I owned everything _Iron Man_, I wouldn't be sitting at my computer at obscene hours of the night for seemingly no reason at all besides the satisfaction of publishing a chapter of fan-fiction.

Everything belongs to Mr. Stan Lee and the boys at Marvel; I'm just taking the opportunity to toy with their giant, billion-dollar-sized playground.

Oh, I apologize in advance for the slightly short chapter, but this is an extremely action-packed chapter, so I hope it compensates :)!

**Pairing: **TS/PP

Reviews are highly appreciated :)!

Do enjoy:

**LJ Pepperony 100 Challenge Theme 49: Explosion**

**A moment later …**

With a frighteningly loud blast, the Audi's low-profile tire blows out as thick shards of glass slash the rubber, causing the car to lurch completely out of control.

Pepper screams as I grip the wheel as tightly as I possibly can in an attempt to bring the spinning car back under control.

Time seems to stand still for an eternity as I watch the solid wall of rock looming in the window. Then, with a sickening crunch of metal against rock, the Audi smashes at a sideways angle into the rock wall, ricochets off, and comes to a halt facing the wrong way on the road.

For a moment, I can't move. Then, I slowly twist my neck, move my fingers and flex my arms to ensure everything's in working order. Other than a rather bruised skull (having come in solid contact with the dash) and a fractured wrist (from being yanked at a wrong angle from gripping the wheel when we hit the wall), I realize I'm relatively lucky. Then, I turn to Pepper.

The passenger's door is completely punched in; it looks like a tree trunk t-boned us. The window is shattered and the part of the dash in front of her has her trapped between it and the seat.

Her eyes are closed and I can hardly tell if she's breathing.

As shock continues to slow my reflexes, panic sets in. I frantically reach over and check her pulse. It's there, but just barely. _Thank you, God!!_ There are some rather nasty looking bruises gracing her temple, face, and arms, and I can't even see her legs. I have no idea how bad she's hurt and the only thing I can do is not touch her because I remember hearing that on some ER-type show: "Never move a victim of a car accident; you could injure them further."

Still reeling from both shock and utter panic, I fumble for my VX9400 and just manage to pull it out of my pocket. As I hit 911, I notice several drops of blood trickling down my wrist. I decide to worry about that later and literally begin shouting into the phone as the operator picks up:

"911, Emergency."

"I've been in a car accident and my passenger is injured badly! I need help right now, I don't know how bad she's hurt and I don't know what to do-"

"Sir, please calm down. There are paramedics en-route as we speak and they should arrive within the next minute or so. Can you stay on the line and walk me through what's happened?" The operator questions.

"The front tire blew out, we went into a spin, and we hit the cliff on the side of the road and I can't really remember what happened just after that but I remember trying to see if she was breathing or anything and I found a pulse, but I didn't try to do anything and-" I ramble uselessly.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to calm down. There is nothing you can do for her right now. Have the paramedics arrived?" She asks.

"Ummm ..." I glance out of the car and realize that the ambulance has already arrived and the EMTs are running towards me.

"Yeah, they're here. What do I do what do I tell them?" I rush through the question.

"They'll take everything from here. Be sure you can tell them as much as you can about the situation. Do you need anything else, sir?" The operator asks once again.

"No … I don't think so … Thank you, thank you very much, ma'am." I reply, managing to finally form a slightly coherent sentence.

"You're very welcome, sir." She kindly waits for me to hang up while the EMTs begin their work.

**Several minutes later, following Pepper's extraction from the destroyed Audi … **

They used the Jaws of Life _The Jaws of Life!?_ to get Pepper out of that twisted wreck and I wasn't even awake to watch it.

I actually passed out shortly after the paramedics arrived due to a laceration across my temple which I hadn't really had the time to notice and from which I had lost a bit of blood. They revived me rather quickly to glean the necessary information about the accident from the less-injured of the two of us, then let me sit in the ambulance while they eased Pepper onto a stretcher and rushed her back to the ambulance.

I sat in the back beneath my blanket and simply shut my eyes as I began to actually shake.

"Sir, you're suffering from some very intense shock and we're going to have to monitor you for a short while at the hospital where we're headed. Can you understand me?" One of the EMTs questions me to make sure I'm still completely coherent.

"Yeah, yeah. Can you tell me how hurt Pepper is?" I respond, raising my dulled eyes to make contact with his.

"She suffered some massive internal trauma and we think she has several broken ribs. The crushed dash didn't do anything beneficial and we're certain she'll have some permanent scarring on her legs from the torn metal." The EMT replies, giving me enough information to send me into tears.

"Will … she be … ok?" I manage through my hitched sobs.

"We're very optimistic, but we need to get to the hospital to get her the medical attention she needs ASAP." He replies, not meeting my gaze.

And in that moment, everything I know, everything I love, goes up in a massive explosion of glass and torn metal.


	5. Protect

A/N: Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce … Chapter 4

**A/N:**** And here we have … Chapter 5! Again, another Tony-centric chapter due to the fact that Pepper is currently incapacitated. Loads of angst ahead, so be warned. :)**

**Disclaimer:** You know, I think I'm just going to give up on this one. Oh, and I don't own anything related to the Point Dume Club of Malibu; an authentic hospital.

**Pairing: **TS/PP

Reviews are highly appreciated :)!

Do enjoy:

**LJ Pepperony 100 Challenge Theme 97: Protect**

In the waiting room of Point Dume Club of Malibu.

**4 hours later …**

I was immediately treated and discharged, and I've been sitting in the damned waiting room for 3 hours.

Someone could have at least come out and told me something by now. I called Rhodey several hours ago and brought him up to speed on everything, so he's in the loop and trying to check in at constant intervals. I've been alternating pacing, sitting, pacing, sitting and I feel like I'm literally about to explode. I can't wait any longer and if one of those doctors doesn't come through that door in the next 5 minutes, I'm going barging in there myself.

Then, the door swings open to reveal a rather relaxed-looking medic, toweling his hands on a sanitized cloth.

I leap to my feet and quickly clear my throat. But, the doc beats me to it.

"Mr. Stark, I'm sure you'll be relieved to hear that Pepper is going to make a full recovery." He begins.

"Thank you, God. And thank you, Dr. Lazarus. Your team has worked miracles in there." I exhale a huge sigh of relief.

"However, the healing process is going to be rather long and tedious. She is going to require constant attention and monitoring and you are going to need a trained medical technician on-call 24/7 for the next three weeks or so." Dr. Lazarus finishes, expertly delivering the bad news as lightly as possible.

"Wait, you mean … she can go home?" I ask, my eyes widening in disbelief.

"Yes, Mr. Stark. She is in stable-enough condition that she can be transported home tomorrow for the duration of her recuperation. Should anything regress, however, she will be brought straight here to assess her condition." Dr. Lazarus replies, smiling warmly.

"Thank you, Doc, thank you very, very much." I manage, shaking his hand firmly as he turns to debrief the attending nurses and technicians.

Finally, I'm able to make the incredibly long walk into Pepper's recovery room.

As I enter the disgustingly sterile, white-walled room, my eyes are immediately drawn to the small and delicate looking figure lying on the bed.

"Pepper …" I whisper, quickly pulling up a chair and settling myself next to her.

Her eyes flutter slowly open and her gaze slowly focuses on my face.

"Tony … where … where am I?" She asks, her blue eyes wide with confusion and fear.

"Shhhhh, it's ok, Pepper. You're in the recovery room of Point Dume's hospital. Everything's fine." I reply, smiling tightly as she reaches out to me with a trembling hand.

In that moment, I want to cradle her against me and never let her go. I want to save her from everything that's happened and protect her from the unknown future.

Instead, I settle for simply holding her hand and gently massaging the abused muscles along her arms.

"That actually feels … really nice." She murmurs, smiling slightly through the intense pain-killers coursing through her system.

"The first thing I've done right in a while." I reply, my eyes hardening as my mind flashes back to the wreck.

"Tony … what happened wasn't your fault. No one could've prepared … for something like that. You did everything in your power to stop it." She seems to come alive as she props herself delicately on the pillows and meets my gaze.

"And it still happened. I should've been paying more attention to the road. I should've done a lot of things …" I allow my voice to trail off as I recall everything that has transpired from the time Pepper first left.

"Tony … I want to read my lips very carefully: It wasn't your fault! It caught both of us completely off guard and we're lucky to have come through something like that in one piece." She responds, her eyes clearing slightly as her drug-fogged brain kicks fully into gear.

"Pepper, you could've died. And it would've been my fault. I lost you once, and I can't even begin to imagine losing you for a second time. I don't want to think about a future like that." I reply, my voice soft with guild and shame.

Pepper once again surprises me with her vivacity and energy as she takes my hand within both of hers and stares into my eyes.

"I left because I wanted you to realize your choices and actions have an impact on way more people than just you. I didn't want to leave at all. You matter too much to me, Tony. I don't want to see you throwing your life away for some childish pursuit. I don't want to lose you, either." Her voice is soft, but still conveys an extraordinary amount of power.

As her words sink in, I can feel hot tears brimming in my eyes and I duck my head for a moment to get rid of them.

"Nope. Not crying. Just had something in my eye." I quip, raising my head and blinking furiously several times to clear my vision.

Pepper smiles at my traditional smart-alec humor and settles back into the soft pillows on her bed, obviously spent.

"So, I'm assuming we're going to be having a long talk tomorrow about things?" She asks, quirking an eyebrow in my direction.

"As soon as we get you home, we'll talk about everything. Not one detail overlooked." I reply, smiling broadly as her eyes widen in surprise.

"Home? Tomorrow?" She questions.

"Yep. The doctor says you're in stable condition and you can start your recuperation at home tomorrow." I continue.

"Thank goodness. I hate hospitals. Well … I'm awfully tired. I think I'm going to head off to sleep again. Good night, Tony." She murmurs sleepily, her eyes slowly closing as her head lolls and comes to rest on her pillow.

"Good night, Pepper. Thank you for coming back to me." I whisper, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of her hand before gently placing it on her bed.

I stay with her for several minutes to make sure she's asleep and simply take the time to appreciate the gift I've been given.

Pepper is safe and healthy. She's back and this time she's not going to leave again.

I would give my life to keep her safe and I will protect her for as long as I live.


End file.
